Mt Faber 15Feb15

From Danny

Last Sunday, 15 Feb, I was back checking out the Changeable Hawk Eagle nest at Mt Faber car park C which I had found earlier on 25 Jan'15.

Before reaching Car Park C, I heard loud adult calls of a CHE but as I was walking along the driveway, a road cleaner came up to me asking whether I was aware of an eagle nest. Good and bad, depending on one's perspective.

I reached site it was quiet with no CHE in sight though I was quite sure one bird sitting on nest as the breeding date still early. After abt 5 min, the dark morph appeared from nest and perched on the right side of the nest(down slope end), it went back to nest and that's when I took the 1st shot with the pale bluish grey nictitating membrane.

After a while it hopped out to the left side of the nest and started calling, stopped /started for abt 10 min before a pale morph CHE flew in. The pair exchanged a few squawks before the dark morph flew off. I missed taking a shot of the pair together, noticing the darker bird appeared larger. Subsequently from Lee-Ferguson, the female is 10 -15% larger.

The pale morph was left guarding the nest. From 11.21 am the pale morph flew off, no one at the nest. The pale morph flew back around 11.36 am but just hang outside the nest till 11.44 am, before flying off again after a couple of minutes, it was calling but did not appear till 11.50 am with a branch full of green leaves but hid it a few trees away .The pale morph did not sit on nest during this period just stood guard outside nest. I left around noon but dark morph was not back .

Anecdotal conclusion:
From my observations, the dark morph is larger and could be verified from the two pictures attached with reference to the bough it perched and protruding twigs of the nest. The female is sitting on the nest. The male, pale morph did not sit on the nest but involved by bringing fresh branches with green leaves which are known to be used to line the nest. However at no time the male dare get into the nest without the female around.